The term Asia-Pacific or APAC generally applies to littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the Pacific Ocean, plus the states in the ocean itself (Oceania). Although an imprecise geographical descriptor, the term Asia-Pacific became popular from the late 1980s as the economies within the heterogeneous region flourished on account of increased regional capital flow, trade and other forms of economic and political interaction. The inclusion of Oceanian countries such as Australia… (More on Asia-pacific)